Monday, January 28, 2013

Words for Critical Citizens #4: whelm

whelm \WELM\

verb

1 : to cover or engulf completely with usually disastrous effect

2 : to overcome in thought or feeling : overwhelm

3 : to pass or go over something so as to bury or submerge it

The avalanche whelmed everything in its path.

"Nevertheless, much will remain whelmed in mystery. Messrs Cameron and Clegg both promised before the general election that the new regime would cover Network Rail, an oddly constituted body laden with publicly backed debt that runs Britain's railway tracks." — From an article in The Economist, January 22, 2011

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